The Great Escape
by MiHeadIsFullOfKelp
Summary: A certain Seaweed Brain is always getting on his girlfriend’s nerves. They always fight, but then make up in the end. Not this time. This time, Percy has hurt Annabeth so badly that she agrees to leave camp just to get away from him. Read and Review.
1. Chapter 1

THE GREAT ESCAPE

_Throw it away_

_Forget yesterday_

_We'll make the great escape…_

It was about ten forty five at night, way after I was supposed to be in bed. But hey, after five years at Camp Half Blood I was an expert at sneaking out past curfew. Currently, I was sitting under Thalia's tree. I come here a lot to think. Yeah I know, it would make more sense for a son of Poseidon to think at the beach, but lately I've been coming here. I don't know why, but Thalia's tree made me feel more…comfortable?

The wind whipped around my head making my shaggy black hair fly around in synch with the tree's branches. Even though it was the middle of June it was outrageously cold. I zippered my hoodie and put up the hood.

My head rested on the trunk of the pine and my eyes were closed. I thought about last year, and chaos of the war. Now that it's over, I feel like I can finally relax. Then I thought about_ her_, and all of a sudden I felt tense. I tried to let everything go and forget about her, I tried not to let one more thought enter my head. My chest began to feet heavy and my head hurt.

Suddenly I felt a presence beside me; it was the girl I came to think about.

A part of me was upset; I had wanted to be alone, I had wanted to forget about her. But I knew, deep down, I was glad she came. The moment she sat down beside me all the tension melted away.

Sometimes I just wanted to be angry at her, but it was hard when I loved her so much.

Neither of us said anything for awhile. Annabeth's blonde curls flew around her face and covered it like a curtain every time the wind gave us a visit. She shivered and hugged her legs. I got the feeling that Annabeth didn't want to be here, but at the same time she knew she couldn't leave. She pursed her pink lips and then opened her mouth like she was going to say something, then swiftly changed her mind.

"Hey." Annabeth finally said, breaking the silence. She looked down her beat up adidas sneakers. I got the feeling she was ashamed. _She should be_, I thought.

I felt her hand around mine and looked up into her worried gray eyes. For a second I forgot why I was mad at her. But when she looked away everything came back into focus.

I decided to cut to the chase. "Where were you last night?" I demanded pulling my hand away from her.

"Huh?" I knew she was just playing dumb.

"I waited at the restaurant for hours and you never came! Where in Zeus' name were you, Annabeth?"

She shivered and hugged herself tighter. It was obvious I wasn't going to get a good answer from her right away. She looked at her sneakers again and played with the fraying laces.

"Annabeth…" I warned.

She sighed in annoyance. "Do you really want to know?" She asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I think you know the answer."

Annabeth took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She ran her fingers through her hair and shivered again. She seemed to be thinking of a way to explain herself.

I looked at her, I watched her think. She was so beautiful. At that moment I didn't care where she was last night, all I cared about was that she was here now.

_I tried to read between the lines_

_I tried to look in your eyes_

_I want a simple explanation_

_For what im feeling inside_

_I gotta find a way out_

_Maybe there's a way out_

I stared to worry again. I thought about all the possible reasons why she didn't show up at our date last night and didn't even call: she could've been attacked, Chiron could've enabled her from leaving camp, her phone could've broke, maybe she was on her way but was sidetracked by monsters, maybe Grover needed her help with an emergency, maybe Athena picked that day to come talk some sense into her, maybe she was hurt, maybe…

"I was visiting Thalia."

Wait, what? _Thalia?_

Since when is visiting Thalia suddenly a good excuse to abandon me without explanation?

"So you ditched me for Thalia?" I said, more confused now than angry. I shook my head trying to make sense of everything.

"Yes." She stated matter-of-factly.

"Ummm, why?" My expression must've been very confused because a little smirk turned up the corners of Annabeth mouth.

"She wanted to talk to me" she said.

_She wanted to talk to her!?_

On the inside I was losing it. There's no way Annabeth would just suddenly leave me to go talk to Thalia. But on the outside, I kept it cool.

_I won't try to philosophize_

_Ill just take a deep breath and I'll look in you eyes…_

I raised one eyebrow the way my mom does when I tell her that it was the Party Ponies that destroyed my room. "Wait, so you skipped our date because Thalia wanted to talk to you? That's it? You could've called! I was going crazy worrying about you!"

If she doesn't have a good answer I am never going out with her again.

Annabeth shivered and her teeth chattered.

"I…" She stopped and thought for a second. I love it when Annabeth thinks hard; she always gets this little frown on her face. I mentally slapped myself. _Focus_,I thought, _you're supposed to be mad at her_.

"Thalia Iris Messaged me at the last minute", she began, "she told me to get Nico and—

"_Nico!?_" What the Hades was Annabeth doing with Nico?

"Yes Nico!" I could see she was starting to get frustrated. "So Thalia told me to get Nico and meet her at this night club—

"A n_ight club!?_" What the Hades was my girlfriend at a night club?

"Yes, a night club! Would you just let me finish?" She somehow managed to say all that and sound pretty darn angry with her teeth chattering like crazy at the same time.

"Okay," I said very slowly, "I will not interrupt anymore."

She glared at me, but continued. "Im going to start from the beginning again."

I nodded.

"Thalia Iris messaged me about two minutes before I was going to leave for the restaurant. She told me to go get Nico and meet her at this club that Dionysus owned down in the city. She said it was like a hang out place for demigods and minor gods, and it was the only place that Artemis would let her go alone. I told her I was going to see you, but she said it was an emergency and she only had one hour."

"But—

Annabeth held up her hand in a _stop everything _gesture. "No interrupting. Remember?"

I nodded.

"So I go get Nico and we drive to Dionysus's night club—

"You can drive?"

"Percy!"

"Sorry…"

She shot me one of her famous death glares. "It turns out that Thalia doesn't want to be a Hunter. She wanted us to think of a way to get her out of the Hunt."

That took me by surprise. The last time I saw Thalia, it seemed that the Hunt was the best thing that had ever happened to her. She was immortal and powerful and had a family of middle school girls that she got to boss around. She traveled around the world assisting the goddess Artimes with her battles. The last time I saw Thalia she was blissful. What had changed her mind? I really didn't know, so I asked.

"Why?"

Annabeth sighed.

"There's this new wave of romance that's going around and 'poisoning' teenage girls. The Hunt has lost twelve girls already."

"So?"

Annabeth shivered.

"So, now Artemis is losing it and instead of running around and killing monsters, what's left of the Hunt is going around and retrieving their lost girls. And Thalia hates it. Artemis won't let her or anyone else out of her site. Thalia was lucky she got away for even an hour."

"Can a goddess really lose her cool?"

"That's not the point. The point is, Im sorry for abandoning you, I really should've called. Thalia had this problem and even though you think it's stupid it's really bothering her and I had to help. Im sorry, okay?" She looked at me with her big, gray, innocent eyes, begging for forgiveness.

I sighed and gave in. "It's ok. It's not like me to get angry over a little thing like that."

Annabeth brushed my messy hair out of my eyes. "It's okay," a smile was tugging at her lips, trying to break through, "I actually kinda liked that you were worried about me, Seaweed Brain, thanks."

"No prob', Wise Girl." Her smile was finally freed. "But back to the Thalia thing…"

She looked at me with serious gray eyes and her beautiful smile faded.

"I was thinking--

"Well, that's a first," Annabeth interrupted.

"Shut up! Im trying to be serious here!"

"That's also a first," she mumbled and then bumped my shoulder playfully. "Go on, I'm listening..."

I started again "I was thinking, when I said that I wasn't acting like myself, that Thalia isn't acting like herself either. She's smart; she'll know it'll pass, so why is she getting upset over this one little thing?"

"Obviously, you don't know enough details." She stated.

"And you do?"

She shook her head, "I wish I did."

She shivered and her teeth chattered. For the first time I noticed that she was wearing a tank top and her arms were littered with goose bumps. _That's why she was shivering so much._

"You cold?" I asked.

She nodded. "Y-you really d-didn't notice?" Her chattering teeth made it sound as if she was speaking some sort of gibberish.

I shrugged. "I think I can warm you up."

She scrunched up her eyebrows in a confused expression.

I lifted her up and put her on my lap. Annabeth is surprisingly very light. Then I zippered my hoodie around both of us. "You still cold?"

"Very." But her shivering stopped and she snuggled closer to me.

I have to admit, my heart started to race in my chest and my brain was slowly melting.

"Hey, Percy?" Annabeth murmured.

"Mhmm?"

"My lips are turned blue," She shifted her position until our noses were almost touching. "Can you warm them up too?"

My heart tripled the pounding and my brain was officially mush.

I said something real intelligent like, "Um, ok."

And then I closed the space between us.

'_Cause we are finally free_

_tonight….._

**Heyy!!! This is my first story on fanfiction so please review and tell me ALL of your thoughts, but dont be mean. :D **

**Even though I just registered on fanfiction I am not new to this site. I have been reading stoires on fanfiction for two years now as a un-registered reviewer. My former pen names are: Nikki J., peaveluvllamas, and Dancing Goddess. Anyone remember Dancing Goddess? Or Nikki J.? Yeah thats me. If you wanna know why I waited two years to register the full story will be on my profile as soon as I make one. **

**About this story: If you like fanfics with lots of action and steady plot, stop reading now. This fanfic is kinda random and pointless, I guess you could day this is a test fanfic so I can get used to writing on fanfiction. If this story ends up going nowhere (which it will) but you guyz like it, then I'll write more. If you don't like it, I'll stop writing now. Just tell me what you want. **

**Also I'm thinking of adding lyrics to Boys Like Girls songs to the story. Is that corny and weird? Please tell me.**

**So yea just review. **

**Thanks a bunches! **

**xx**

**MiHeadIsFullOfKelp (but call me Nikki...) **

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	2. Chapter 2

**Heyy!! IM BAACK!!! **

**and thank you sooo much to almost everyone who reviewed: WriterAlex, sailorgirl424, karmabear2050, The Demented Leprechaun, G, puffin0997, percycool, Tammerly, cushi96, and perceabethgirl-12!!! **

**The reason i said ALMOST everyone is that there is no way im gonna thank Ihateyou cuz dat person hates me (obviously) and he sent a rlly mean review!! :'( I think thats called flames...well if it is then NO MORE FLAMES!!! get it? got it? good. And if u really hate me or my story, dont just criticize me, instead tell me how i can make it better, i think that's called constructive criticism. **

**anyways...**

**heres a little message to percycool: thanx for the suggestion, but no, i dont think im gonna write about lukes return cuz im sooo bad at writing about luke! i tried to write a oneshot about him once but it was rlly OOC so i gave up. **

**and a message to karmabear2050: yes! I am percy's half sister! lol. **

**so yea...**

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CHAPTER 2 Of The Great Escape

Demigods are strangers to the world of normal. Burning up a building or fighting for your life against a hydra is probably more normal than going to the movies. So naturally I was very suspicious when absolutely nothing strange occurred the next day at Camp Half Blood. _Something had to go wrong_, I thought, _something_. Yeah, I know I sound paranoid, but it's all part of being a half-blood: expecting danger. Amazingly, it turned out to be a somewhat normal day; well, as normal as it gets when you're a son of Poseidon.

Key word: _day_. The minute the sun went down; things began to get extremely weird. Today was just too ordinary to be true, something had to go wrong. And evidently something did.

The first strange event was when Nico arrived at the Poseidon cabin at around seven thirty.

I was in the middle of a very chaotic search for riptide when I heard the knock at my door. Losing a sword that was enchanted to always reappear in your pocket is very typical for a Seaweed Brain like me. Piles of my belongings were scattered around my room as a result of my frantic search. Funny how I didn't realize how much stuff was in here until I started throwing it all out of the drawers.

Eventually I opened the door. Nico just stood there in the threshold and looked over my shoulder at the mess. His black eyes surveyed the appearance of my cabin and finally he nodded with acceptance. "Nothing much has changed, huh?" He asked.

I grinned, "Nice to see you too, little cousin."

He groaned, obviously not very pleased with the way addressed him.

Nico walked in, carefully avoiding the piles of junk, and sat down on a chair pressed against the sea green wall. I waited for an explanation of why he had come, but I could see he was going to be difficult. He twiddled his thumbs, which I thought was very strange and some-what awkward, and looked at the ceiling.

"Not to be rude or anything," I finally said, "but why are you here?" Nico hasn't been at camp for the past few weeks, so the fact that he just showed up unexpectedly made me think that something was up. Nico usually has a scheme in mind when he comes to see me, and he probably has one in mind now. And most likely, this scheme involves me. He looked hesitant about telling me though, I began to wonder why.

Nico let out a big whoosh of air. "I have a favor to ask you." _I knew it_, I thought.

"And..?" I prompted.

"Just…come with me, I'll explain when we get there." Nico looked at me like he was already picking out the flowers for my coffin. _What in the world does the kid want? _I wondered. _Something bad. _

"Can't you just tell me? How terrible could it be?" I started to think of all the worst case scenarios.

"Pretty bad." He admitted, "Well for you anyway."

"Huh?"

"Never mind."

"We're not allowed out of camp." I reminded him.

"I know. But it's not like you've never snuck out before."

I shrugged.

So we took Blackjack into the city. And I was very surprised when I recognized where we were: Central Park.

"Nico, what are we doing here?" I asked.

He sighed, I thought he would refuse to tell me like he did back at camp, but I guess he gave up stalling. "I want you to talk to someone."

"Who?" And then I saw her.

Thalia leaned against a giant evergreen with her arms crossed over her "Death to Barbie" t-shirt. Her long, wild, black hair was let loose around her face and a silver circlet (which looked really out of place) was positioned upon her head.

She groaned with annoyance when she saw the son of Hades, "Nico, what am I doing here? And who…" She trailed off when she saw me. She squinted her electric blue, eyeliner lined eyes, trying to see through the dark. "Wh-who is that?" Thalia took a closer look. "Percy Jackson?"

"Hey Thal." My voice had a confused tone to it.

"Hey, Percy." Her voice went up a few octaves at the end of her sentence, almost like she was asking a question.

A very confused looking Thalia walked toward us, but very quickly her confusion became annoyance. "Seriously Nico, I've got things to do and places to be! Will you stop wasting my time and just tell my why I'm here?"

Ever since she became immortal, Thalia was much more patient and calm. She's still the same old wild Thalia, but she is much more tolerant and understanding now. Maybe it was because of all the time on her hands, after all, she does have all the time in the world. The fact that she was getting impenitent meant that she was extremely confused.

"Really, Nico! I don't have all night! Tell me now, what am I doing here?" Thalia must be _really _confused.

"I've been asking him the same question," I mumbled.

We both looked at Nico, who had a sudden interest in his shoes. Then he looked up at the night sky, maybe hoping that a plane would fly by with the answers to his problems written on a banner tied to the back of it.

"I found a way for Thalia to quit the hunt." He finally said. Thalia's eyes lit up as brightly as the moon.

"How?" I asked. It must be pretty complicated because even Annabeth couldn't figure out a way for Thalia to quit the hunt.

"I talked to some of the former hunters who came to Camp Half Blood." Nico said simply.

"What do I have to do?" Thalia asked.

"What does she have to do" I asked simultaneously.

The look Nico gave me said _Percy, you are dead meat_.

I got the feeling that whatever was about to happen to me was going to be quite a show for him. He opened his mouth, I almost didn't want to know what he was about to say. And then he said it: "You have to kiss Percy." Nico looked at us, waiting for our reaction.

Silence…silence…silence. Both of us were frozen in shock. And then all Hades broke loose.

"WHAT!?" I could honestly see smoke coming out of Thalia's ears.

"No. Way. In. Hades." Thalia enunciated each word with outrageous anger. Now I understood subtle warnings Nico was giving me. But Nico didn't know Thalia as well as I did. He thought she would pounce on _me _when she heard the news. But I knew that Nico was the one who would be struck my lightning.

Nico winced. Thalia was still shouting at him. And I was standing against a tree, trying to sort things in out in my supposedly seaweed filled brain.

"HOW IN THE NAME OF ZEUS IS PERCY'S LIPS ON MINE," (that sounded so wrong), "GOING TO HELP ME!?" Thalia was glowing with rage. She whipped out her deadly weapons and pounced on our cousin. Nico looked so sorry that he ever brought this up. I bit back a laugh.

I don't know how, but Nico managed to live through Thalia's wild attack. He stood up and looked her in her eyes "Do you want a way out of the Hunt, or not?" Nico asked.

Thalia stopped yelling and thought about that. For a second, I saw a small, sad, lonely little girl in the place of Thalia. For that second, Thalia was stripped of everything that made her, her. In that second, she was just a normal girl, wanting something she couldn't have. I got an empty feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"Thalia," My voice was soft, she looked at me with her startling blue eyes, "Can I talk to you about this?" Then I looked at Nico, "Alone?"

Nico looked like he was about to protest, but then nodded and walked away to who-knows-where.

"Just don't kiss me, okay?" Thalia grumbled.

"I wont, promise." I assured her.

I led Thalia over to a bench under a big maple tree. It was so dark outside that I couldn't really see where I was going, and that lead to tripping over roots and stuff. The darkness was strange considering it was June and only about eight o'clock. But then again, it isn't supposed to be cold in June either. Maybe Mother Nature was having some sort of breakdown, or something. Surprisingly, Thalia didn't seem to be bothered by the dark or the weather. _Must be a Hunter thing._

Thalia's eyes seemed to glow in the dark. "Let's, get this over with," she griped as we sat down.

I sucked in the fresh night air and let it out slowly. "Thalia," I began, "Why do you want to leave the Hunt?"

She rolled her eyes as if I was the most annoying person she knew. I probably was. "Well, would you want to lead the Hunt or the rescue-love-sick-teenage-girls-patrol?"

"The Hunt," I agreed. "But why quit? You're going to live forever, so it's not like your wasting any time or anything."

Thalia opened her mouth to object, but I kept talking, "And sooner or later things will go back to normal, and once it does you're going to regret your choice if you quit. This will pass."

Thalia looked me seriously, her eyes practically boring holes in my head. The intensenessof her gaze made it impossible to look away. Her eyes were glowing, and I bet you five golden drachmas that mine were too. And when she locked eyes with me, I felt a shiver go up my spine. This was some serious eye contact here. She was probably using some sort of magic. It took a while for the message to get through though, but suddenly Thalia's eyes became so bright that I was practically blinded, and when the blue light died down I got the message: _this conversation is top secret. _

Then she looked away and the lights went out. "I know, I thought about that, and I've been waiting for it to pass…for a year now."

"A year!?" But last year the hunt had looked so…so full, united.

"Yeah, a year. And…it's not just that. I do know its going to pass, but there's something else."

I raised my eyebrows.

"You."

"Me?" I exclaimed in shock, pointing to myself. "What do I have to do with anything?"

Thalia sighed. "I've had to put up with a lot of crap about you and me ever since I've joined the Hunt."

I had no idea what was she talking about. Then out of the blue, one horrible possibility popped into my mind. "You're not in love with me, right?"

Thalia's eyes bugged out of her head. "Oh Gods, no!" I wasn't sure if I was offended or relieved.

"It's just that, you're my friend." She explained, "We've been through so much together, we saved each others lives countless times, how could you not be my friend?"

That made me smile. I've always thought of Thalia as one of my best friends, but I was never sure if Thalia thought of _me_ as one _her_of her best friends. And yes, I know, that thought was very childish.

"And apparently even being _friends_ with a boy is not allowed when you're a Hunter." Thalia ranted on. "Even when you're my cousin! Family! You're not even allowed to love your male family!"

I opened my mouth to speak, but Thalia waved frantically and I assumed that was a signal for me to keep my mouth shut.

"And I miss camp! I've only been there for what? Six months? And then we went on that stupid quest—

"Hey! It was not stupid. We had to rescue Annabeth," I reminded her.

She glared at me and I help up my hands in defense, "I'm just saying…"

"But I miss you guys," she continued "I miss Annabeth, and every time I complain that I want to see her, I get some crappy lecture about how Annabeth should just become a Hunter like I am. And then I get all mad because I know how much she means to you and Im not going to take her away from you…and…and…and…" She was unable to finish.

I have never seen Thalia rant like this in all of my sixteen, almost seventeen, years of living. I thought I would never live to see the day where the all-mighty, mysterious Thalia, would let her emotions loose like a regular teenage girl. But apparently I was wrong.

"So, basically you want to leave the Hunt because all you do is chase after love sick girls, you miss your friends, and people give you a lot of crap about me and you, am I right?"

She nodded. "And I just generally miss camp altogether," She added.

"And I am here to tell you that I think you should stay where you are, and let things sort out around you."

Thalia looked at me like I had just dropped from the sky. "Since when are you the one to give good advice?" She mumbled.

I smirked, very pleased with myself.

"You don't understand, Percy Jackson! Do you really think I would just drop out?"

"Well, you kinda are…"

"I have good reasons!"

"You do? No offence or anything—

"They are good reasons! Your tiny brain just can't process how much those reasons are affecting my life! I mean look at me!"

I looked at her.

"I'm going crazy! I'm getting all emotional like one of those stupid Aphrodite girls! What's wrong with me…?" I honestly thought she was going to cry. I put my arm around her, and surprisingly she accepted this.

"It's okay Thals. Everyone gets emotional sometimes—

"Well not me," Thalia interrupted. Her voice was small.

"Yes, you too. Look, I know it's hard—

"No you don't."

"Will you just let me finish?" Thalia's interruptions gave me a strong sense of deja-vu from last night.

Thalia nodded.

"You will be alive for the rest of time, well, until you fall in love or fall in battle. So time isn't the same for you, this whole wanting-to-quit-the-hint-thing will pas, and when you look back on this three thousand years from now, you will not believe how stupid you were acting."

"But what if I don't want to live for three thousand years? I-I can't even think about what my life will be like if I did." Thalia's voice was so soft and unsure that I literally had to have my ear against her face in order to understand what she had said. It was as if all of these emotions were stored up in her for so long, and now they're finally being let loose. She looked so sad and so broken, torn of everything that had once made her strong. But the weird thing was, why? I still didn't understand why a little thing like this was upsetting her.

Annabeth's words came back to me from last night: _You need to know that facts._ I looked at my cousin, she was so miserable, so I decided not to push it.

"Thalia, I don't think quitting the hunt is a good idea. I just don't. I know I don't have a very good reason, but I have a feeling that you'll regret it."

Thalia looked at me, she kept her mouth shut, but her eyes said _how do you know? _

"You're my cousin. We share more DNA than any other half-blood. Scratch that, were not even cousins, were practically siblings. So I know you, Thalia. I don't understand what your problem is. I say, stay in the Hunt."

She looked lost. "Great, were related, and that helps me how?"

"Don't quit the Hunt. Just don't do it. You will regret it. Capiche?"

She shook her head and looked at me like I was crazy.

I groaned. "I know you better than any other half-blood."

She opened her mouth to object, but I beat her to it, "I don't care how long you've known Annabeth! I know you Thalia; we've always been close, always. Like I said before, Thals, you're my sister. And I know that you won't be happy if you quit the hunt. The same way I know when you're coming to camp three days before you get there. I just have a feeling. Thalia, you pledged your life to Artimes. It's your life, your job, your fate. You can't turn back now. What is wrong with you? Where is the Thalia I've known all my life? You're acting like…like…like…"

"Not myself?" She guessed.

"Yeah." I was surprised at her suddenly strong voice.

"Sorry. I just kinda let everything go, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you kinda did." I hesitated, "but it's okay."

"Thanks. You, you really are a great friend. Maybe some of that seaweed up there disappeared," She joked.

"Ummm…okay?"

"Whops, I just found it."

I grinned. "So, you're not quitting the hunt?"

"No." She shook her head. "I don't know why, but I think I'm going to take your advice."

"You are?" Gods, I didn't think it would be that easy…

She chuckled. "Surprised? Yeah, I kinda lost my cool and went all crazy and emotional on you."

"Yeah…freaked me out a little bit." I admitted.

She punched me. "I wasn't that bad!"

"Yes you were. It was horrible." I joked

She punched me again. Hard.

"Hey I was kidding!"

"Just checking."

"So, you're staying a hunter?" I asked, knowing the answer.

"Yes, thanks to you." Then she hugged the living daylights out of me. I hugged her back.

"What changed your mind?" I asked, honestly curious.

She released me from her bear hug and placed her arm casually around my shoulders. "You just seemed to care so much about me, so I decided to listen to you."

I grinned like that stupid cat from Alice in Wonderland.

We both stood up from the uncomfortable park bench.

Suddenly she got a dangerous look in her eyes. "If you tell anyone about the way I acted, I will—

I cut her off, not wanting to hear all the painful things she was planning to do to me. "Don't worry; I'll keep this a secret."

"Thanks."

Nico stepped out of the clearing as soon as we'd stood up from the bench, I wondered if he was eaves dropping.

"Is everything okay?" the son of Hades asked "Percy, did you kiss her?"

I grinned. "Well what do you think, Nico diAngelo?"

"Umm…you didn't kiss her?" He looked at me strangely.

"Maybe." He looked so lost, so I laughed.

Thalia groaned at my stupid, typical seaweed brain comments.

I'll admit, that talk we had was pretty weird, but I was glad I helped her out._ Thanks. You, you really are a great friend. _Thalia was a great friend too.

"So, will anyone tell me what happened?" Nico looked at Thalia, then me.

"That's for you," Thalia ruffled his hair, "and your 'big' brain to figure out." He glared at her.

"Percy?" The twelve year old asked hopefully.

"Sorry, kid."

He groaned.

Thalia's eyes were fierce and wild again, but her smile was friendly. "I'm gonna miss you." She said to me.

"Yeah, same."

"You know… if I wasn't a hunter…"

"Shut up."

She laughed and hugged me again. It was weird in a way having her be this friendly, but hey, I'm not complaining.

Then I put my arms around both cousins and together we walked toward Blackjack.

"Gods, I love our family."

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**Sooo… tell me all your thoughts. And tell me how I did with Thalia! Personally, I hate this chapter, I think it's really weird, but I just had to add it to my story cuz it kinda wriggled into the plot… yeah…and I thought Thalia was acting really weird and un-thalia-ish, and same with Nico. So yea, tell me all your thoughts and please me any tips and suggestions!! **

**btw, who here reads maximum ride??? I LOVE THOSE BOOKS!!!! i started reading the first one a few days ago and now im lyk almost done! and thats a first for me cuz i take FOREVER to finish a book! But i have very bad news about maximum ride: FANG MIGHT DIE!!! i looked up maximum ride on google and i saw a preview or something for book 6 nd i clicked on it and i said that fangs gonna die! im sooo sad!!! :'( but then again i could be wrong, i HAVE to be wrong, lets hope im wrong...**

**heehee :D**

**REVIEW!!!!! ....please??**

**xx**

**Nikki**


	3. Chapter 3

**sorry! I know i havnt updated in FOREVER but school is like taking over my life so dont be expected updates too often! but ill try my best to update as soon as possible!**

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Annabeth's POV

I've always loved the water. Always. It's not just because of Seaweed Brain. Although I have to admit, he did influence my opinions a little.

Ever since I was claimed as Athena's daughter, my cabin teased me about how much time I spent in the ocean. Some of my siblings took this whole Athena and Poseidon thing way too far. But I didn't care; I would just dive in anyways and let the water drown out my troubles up on land. Water freed me in a way, when I went below the surface nothing else mattered but the fish and the bubbles escaping from my mouth as I tried to breathe.

Eventually, some of the campers gave me a nickname: Water Girl. I tried to pretend that it bothered me; after all, I was a daughter of Athena, enemy of the god of the sea. But in truth, I was proud to be Water Girl. I was proud to stand out, be different, and do what I love.

When Percy Jackson first came to camp, I tried to lessen my love for water. It was sort of stupid, but yes, I was trying to impress him. Stupid Seaweed Brain. Ever since I started my unintelligent, unnecessary, phase of acting like a non-water-girl, I lost my nickname as quickly as I had got it.

And I still regret it to this day. After Percy and I started dating I spent much more time in the water, though nobody seemed to notice. So I guess I'm not such a Water Girl after all.

Today, I sat on the beach. Whenever I had extra time, my feet would subconsciously drag me out here. It was as if my conscience was still Water Girl. Daedalus's laptop lay closed on my lap; I didn't feel like working, I felt like daydreaming, which I hadn't been able to do for a long time.

The salty air burned my eyes and the wind twirled my hair around my head so the loose blonde curls kept getting caught in my mouth. I didn't care; I just let my mind wonder.

At first, only little things passed through my mind, like the color of the ocean on this cold June day. And how when I was little, the colors of my bedroom walls were exactly the same color. And then my mind drifted to the day my father insisted that the color was much too ugly and he hired a painter to come over. Of course, I had a tantrum. The dark green walls from my childhood were always one of my stronger memories, for some reason.

And then my thoughts drifted to more significant things, like how Percy's eyes were that same color when he was angry. And how his mood was always reflected into the sea. I studied the waves and came to the conclusion that Percy must be confused today, the waves were calm but the color was dark.

I wondered what he could be confused about. Hmmm, well there were a lot of things that could confuse a seaweed brain. But Percy was acting a little strange lately, a little more confused than usual, now that I thought about it. I wasn't very worried. But there was one person I was worried about: Thalia. I hadn't talked to her or heard from her since the god club. I had a plan to help her with this whole Hunter thing, but I wanted to run it by Nico before I told her. _Where is Nico anyways?_ I wondered.

I groaned as a wave swept up and just brushed the tips of my toes with its cold touch. I had planned to stay dry but the tide was coming in.

Suddenly, I got a strong feeling in the pit of my stomach that I had to get back to the Athena Cabin, and that I had to get there as quickly as possible. So I grabbed my laptop and walked away from the beach. I dashed between bunches campers until I arrived at the semicircle of cabins.

I stopped in my tracks as I walked up the steps to the front door of the Athena cabin. The whole place began to glow, brighter and brighter each second. And then it stopped. I had been shielding my eyes from the light, and when I looked again I expected my cabin to look drastically different, but it was just the same as before. Cautiously, I stepped inside.

Inside, was the last person I wanted to see: My mother.

Before you get all, _"But she's your mother! Why is that such a bad thing?"_, let me explain. My mom has never been quite so happy with my new romance with her enemy's son. The last time she came to visit me I ended up in tears. And I would prefer not to replay that again, thank you very much.

The faintest smile broke out on Athena's face when she saw me, "Ah, Annabeth, just who I wanted to see. I'm not so good with magic, and I was worried I might've drawn the wrong child to my cabin." Her voice was soothing and low.

I blushed. "Hi, mom"

Athena pulled out a wooden chair from under the nearest desk and gestured toward it. "Sit," she demanded.

_Here it comes. _

Reluctantly I sat down.

_Brace yourself…_

As if reading my mind Athena said, "Don't worry, this isn't another talk about _him._"

I sighed in relief.

My mother smiled at my sudden change of attitude. "I came here, Annabeth, to ask you to perform a task for me. Are you interested?"

A task? I wasn't sure if I was more shocked or honored. "Um, well I guess it depends on the task." I finally said.

"Very wise indeed, my daughter." I could feel my face becoming redder by the second. "I am working on a project," Athena continued, "and I am missing one of the most important utensils. I want you to find it." She noticed the cautious look on my face and quickly added, "Oh, don't worry; it is a small task, for I know exactly what it is and the area in which it is hidden. I almost went after the tool myself before I saw the opportunity to let you have some glory." A half smile played on her lips.

"Well, um, what exactly is this tool?" I asked, somewhat uncertain.

My mother's eyes twinkled. "A conch shell."

"And the location?"

"New Hampshire."

New Hampshire? When she said she knew the area in which the shell was to be found, I thought she would know of a more exact location.

"So, are you willing to help me?" My mother asked.

I closed my eyes and thought. I wanted to help her so badly; I wanted to show her what I could do. But this reminded me all too well of a situation that Hermes had once put Luke in. His father gave him a pointless quest: Luke had to retrieve a golden apple from the Garden of the Hesperides. And Luke accepted, just to impress his godly father, but after he returned with a scar slashed across his face, he was never the same again. I'm not saying that just by going on this small quest would lead me down the same path as Luke, I'm just saying that the two situations seem too similar.

Also, I've got bigger problems to deal with, like Thalia. And the quest was very simple; any of my siblings could easily perform it. It wasn't the end of the world if I backed out, and that was kinda what I wanted to do…

"Ah, hesitating, are you?" Athena looked at me with wise, gray, knowing eyes. "I thought so; you are too much like me to accept a task of so little. But I also understand that you take pleasure in relaxation." Then she went into her pocket and pulled out a key ring with several different keys on it. "That is why I got you this: A little luxury for this quest."

I gasped and took the keys in my hands. "Wh-what is this?"

Athena smiled. "You can drive, correct?"

I managed to nod.

"So, here are your car keys," she pointed to two large black keys. "And, here…" she then pointed to three tiny copper keys, "are the keys to the house that rented for you."

My jaw dropped. A house? My mother, the goddess Athena, rented me a house? And, and a car?

The goddess chuckled at my reaction, "I'll give you some time to think it over, dear."

I was numb with shock.

Athena snapped her fingers and said, "I will be back at four o'clock this afternoon, by then you should have everything sorted out." And then she dissolved.

…**~--^--~…**

I was still in shock for the rest of the day. Never in history has an immortal goddess interfered so much with a mortal quest. I was entirely stunned.

I had done a lot of thinking of the choice that I would make when Athena returned. I thought I had everything straightened out and ready for four o'clock. That was, until Nico showed up.

I found him sitting upon the railing on the porch of the Big House. I literally with jumped with joy when I first spied the Son of Hades.

"Nico, Nico, Nico!" I shouted running over to him. When I got to the Big House I jumped onto the railing next to him and gave his shoulders a tight squeeze. "Im so glad you're here!"

"Hey, Annabeth," the boy grinned.

We talked for a while about pointless things, and then I decided to just ask what was on my mind. "Now tell me, what's the deal with Thalia?"

That whipped the smile right off his face.

"Umm…" He looked at me nervously.

"You don't know?" That's okay, look; I think I found a way to help her! Here's what we have to do…"

"Annabeth! Calm down! Thalia's okay." Nico interrupted my excited babbling.

"She is?" I sighed with relief. "Oh, okay. Does she still need my help?"

Nico stared down at our dangling legs, "No."

His anxious presence was bothering me.

"Nico, what's wrong?" I asked.

"She doesn't need our help because she isn't a Hunter anymore," He revealed unwillingly.

I was still confused. "She's not a Hunter? How did you do that?"

The twelve year old gulped. "Percy kissed her." He spoke so quietly that I almost didn't hear him.

I was silent for a long time. My heart practically stopped and my brain wouldn't work. Nothing passed through my head, I felt numb.

"Annabeth? Are you…okay? Do you want me to go get Chiron?" Nico asked.

"No. Im fine," I lied. "Did he really…do that?"

"Do what? Oh…that. Yeah." He told me sheepishly. "But, I didn't see anything…" He quickly said in his defense.

"You didn't see anything? Than how do you know what happened? How can you scare me like this!?" I demanded.

Nico looked really remorseful. I almost felt bad for him.

"Percy asked me to go away while he talked to Thalia," He explained nervously, "and when I came back she was all happy and smiley so I thought…"

I couldn't believe it. Percy kissed Thalia. Thalia kissed Percy. Percy. Thalia. Percy and Thalia. Thalia and Percy. I couldn't wrap my mind around it. I tried to calm myself down; after all, Nico wasn't positive that this kissing thing was true. But it seemed pretty convincing to me. And it did explain Percy's confused behavior.

Suddenly I was struck with an angry power. "Let me go talk to the boy," I said through gritted teeth and jumped off the bench.

"Wait!" Nico yelled and grabbed my arm. "Don't get mad at him!"

Don't get mad at him? Is that possible?

"And why not!?" I growled.

"Um, 'cause I made him do it." he muttered.

"NICO! I can't believe it! Why would you do that?" I looked at him like he was crazy. Nico looked at me like I was insane.

"I wanted to help Thalia." Nico mumbled.

"Yeah, but Thalia could've quit the hunt without kissing _my_ boyfriend!" I said, outraged.

Nico tried to reason with me. "Why does it matter anyway? It's not like they're in love, its not like Percy's cheating on you. Its just one kiss."

"Why does it matter!? Of course it matters! Ever since I was little, everyone I've ever loved abandoned me, and I am NEVER going to let that happen again! EVER!" I must've been steaming I was so mad

"Annabeth, he's not going to leave you, just calm down." Nico reassured me.

I sank to the ground below Nico's feet. "I had wanted to build something permanent with him, you know?" I said quietly. "Everyone has left me, my mom, my dad, Thalia, Luke. Everyone but Percy. And I'm so afraid that any day now he's just going to disappear. And that's almost happened several times. And, I just thought…" I trailed off, unable to finish.

The son of Hades slid off the railing and landed on the ground next to me. "You could be wrong. What if Percy never leaves you? What if you do build something permanent? What if you already have something permanent? What if you're wrong?"

"Yes, but there's a fifty-fifty chance that I am right." I sighed. "I've trained myself not to trust anybody, to always be on my toes. I thought that maybe I could end that, but now—

"Don't think like that." Nico interrupted.

I sighed. "Your right, I just can't help it." Then I crossed my arms over my chest, "I hope Thalia's happy," I grumbled.

"Me too…" Nico agreed. "And Annabeth?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry, this is my fault." I felt so bad for the kid. He looked like he was mentally beating himself up.

"Its-its ok." It was then that I changed my mind about the quest. I was going to say no, I was going decline, but now the only thing I really want to do is just run away, and Athena had just given me the perfect opportunity. The second I had made this final division, I felt the same need to run to cabin that I did on the beach this morning. _Must be Athena_, I thought.

"Nico? What time is it?" I asked.

"Umm," he closed his eyes for a second "One minute after four."

I didn't bother to ask how he new that. I just said I quick good-bye and ten dashed off to meet my mother and tell her that I was ready to leave.

…**~--^--~…**

PERCY'S POV

It was one-thirty in the morning and I couldn't sleep. I just couldn't. No reason, no bad dreams, I just wasn't tired. I really should've been though after two sleepless nights in a row and a big game of capture the flag.

I shifted positions several times before I rolled over and looked out the window. I didn't expect to see much, but surprisingly I saw something very interesting: Annabeth. She seemed to be sneaking out. I noticed a big brown bag was slung over her shoulder and a navy purse over the other. I wondered what was in the bags. Annabeth looked around cautiously and then hurried out of my sight. Quickly, I jumped out of bed and ran after her.

She walked briskly to the center of camp and started toward the boarder. I looked around for the harpies, waiting for an attack, but none were in sight. Abruptly Annabeth turned around and ran to the beach. I flowed close behind, busting my toes on a rock in the process.

Annabeth put down her bags on a rock and then walked to the shore, pulling her feet though the sand.

Very, very carefully, I crept up behind her. My hands shot out and grabbed her waist. She tensed and muffled her yelp with her hand.

She turned around and narrowed her eyes. "Seaweed Brain! What are you doing here?"

"I was just going to ask you the same question." My hands were still on her hips and she brushed them off angrily. _What's up with her?_ I wondered.

My girlfriend turned and walked over to a large piece of driftwood. I followed and sat down on it. She stood above me and stared at the sleeping Camp Half Blood. I tugged on her small hand until she sat down next to me.

"What's wrong, Wise Girl?" I asked tenderly.

She sighed, avoiding my eyes. "Did you really kiss Thalia?" she asked.

Did I _what_?

"Why would I kiss…" I trailed off trying to fallow her thoughts. "Ohh."

"Why would you do that?" She still wouldn't look at me, but I could see that her expression was unbelieving and her gray eyes were filled with tears and betrayal. It made my heart sink. "How could you do that to me?"

I wanted to reach out and hold her in my arms and tell her I was sorry and that everything would be okay, but I stayed put.

"Why do you think I kissed her?" I asked.

"Nico told me." She said simply, still avoiding my eyes.

That stupid kid. I really need to talk to this guy if he seriously thinks that I kissed Thalia.

I put a hand on her shoulder. "I want you know, that I have never, ever, kissed Thalia, and I never will." She brushed my hands away.

"But Nico said—

"Give me one good reason to trust Nico."

She was speechless.

"Exactly."

Annabeth finally looked at me. I felt a sharp pang in my chest when I saw all the hurt in those beautiful eyes. "Swear of the River Styx." She demanded.

"What?"

"Swear on the River Styx that you didn't kiss Thalia." Her voice cracked when she said Thalia's name and I literally felt she had just stabbed me.

"I swear on the River Styx that I didn't kiss Thalia." I repeated.

"And that you never will."

"And that I never will," I amended.

She looked satisfied.

"So Thalia's still a Hunter?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"Is she happy?"

"I think so."

"Good." She laid her head on my shoulder, but then quickly remembered she was supposed to be mad at me and her head sprang up.

I stared out at the Ocean. It healed the mental wounds Annabeth gave me every time she pushed me away. My eyes then settled on Annabeth's bags sitting on the rocks.

"What are those bags for?" I wondered.

"Luggage." She said minimally.

"Luggage? Where are you going?"

"New Hampshire." She shrugged as if this trip was nothing to worry about. I was worried. _Very_ worried.

"Why?"

She groaned. "Look, Percy, don't make this harder than it is."

"But I just want to know _why_." I declared in my defense.

"Fine. My mother gave me a task to perform." A task? How come I didn't know about this? If she had a quest I would think that she would want me to come along.

"What kind of task?" I asked.

"Why does it matter?" Annabeth snapped.

"Why are you making this so difficult?" I shot back at her.

"A shell, I'm going to New Hampshire to find some special conch shell. Happy?" She growled.

"Why?"

"Just shut up!" She screamed with her head in her hands.

That last outburst really caught me off guard. "Um...Sorry?"

Annabeth stood up. "I should go." Her tone was detached.

"Go where?" I fallowed her like a shadow as she walked over to her bags.

"Didn't we just go through this?" She put down the brown bag again and turned to face me.

"Annabeth, what is up with you? What's wrong?" She got a dangerous look in her eyes but it quickly melted away and she collapsed into my arms.

I held her tight and stroked her hair, trying to comfort her.

"Percy, I can't do this anymore!" She complained. "I just can't." A tear slid down her left cheek.

I kissed the top of her head, "Do what?"

She looked at me with her _I-cant-believe-you're-this-oblivious _expression. "This, Seaweed Brain!" She gestured between us.

"And what's wrong with this?" I imitated her previous gesture.

She groaned and pushed me away with such force that she knocked herself down. She didn't bother to get up. I sat down next to her.

"Annabeth, are you trying to break up with me?" _Please say no, please say no, please say no. _

"No." _Yessss! _"I just need to…to…to get away for a while." _Noooo!_ "That's why I really accepted Athena's offer."

She had just tied my heart up into knots. "What did I ever do to you, Wise Girl?" I asked softly, looking into her gray eyes as deeply as I could.

"Nothing. You didn't do anything. It's me. I need to leave, to get away. I need to get away for myself." She explained.

She held my gaze for a long time before she closed her eyes tight. Three tears escaped from her lids, getting caught in her long lashes before rolling down her cheeks. I brushed them away and kissed the wet marks that the tears left behind. Invisible sparks flew every time my lips met her skin.

_Picture, you the queen of everything_

_Far as the eye can see under your command _

_I will be your guardian when all is crumbling_

_I'll steady your hand_

But Annabeth shielded her face with her hands.

"Percy, stop, please," she whimpered.

What in the world could I possibly be doing wrong? Im trying to comfort her for the god's sake! Like a good boyfriend should.

"This is too much. I need to go, I need to get away, I need…" She trailed off her eyes wondered away to a far away place. "I have to go…now," she suddenly said. Then she stood up, took her bags, and left me sitting in the sand.

"Wait!" I jogged after her.

Annabeth broke into a run, going faster and faster every time I yelled for her to stop. She paused for a second when she reached the top of Half-Blood Hill. I tackled her to the ground. She tried to stand and I let her, but I held her hand tight so that she wouldn't be able to run off.

"Don't go," I demanded, though it didn't sound as demanding as I would've liked. I sounded more like a scared, lost, child.

_Don't let me go_

_Don't let me go_

_Don't let me go_

"I have too, try and understand. Besides, I've already promised my mother. If I back out now because of you, you'll be blasted to shreds." She tried to sound confident, tried to convince herself that this trip was worthwhile, as well as convincing me.

I didn't know what to say. I was totally clueless of what would be a smart thing to do in this situation. Whatever I did would only make things worse. I felt like my heart weighed a thousand pounds. I couldn't let her go, I just couldn't, but what could I do to make her turn around and come back?

"How long will you be gone?" I asked, dredging the answer.

Annabeth sighed, "As soon as I find my mother's missing conch shell, I'll come back. I don't know how long that will take."

"Can't you leave tomorrow? Give me just one more chance to make this right. Is that so hard?" I prayed to Aphrodite a thousand times to make Annabeth stay. "Do you know how much you mean to me?"

Her stormy gray eyes brimmed with more tears. "I have to go." She insisted.

_Don't let me go…_

"Is this because Athena doesn't want us to be together?"

"Percy…" Annabeth started to cry, it broke my heart.

"Wise Girl, I don't care what your mother thinks."

Annabeth looked like she would loose her cool any second a burst into tears.

"Please, don't go now, tomorrow maybe, but not now." I begged.

She shook her head no.

I was going to miss her so much. I was about to let her go when my senses over powered my brain. I pulled her against me and kissed her. I felt like my brain had just melted and my body was on fire, it was amazing. I wanted to just freeze time right there, to stay there forever, and if forever was until I was so dizzy from lack of air that I could've fainted, I did I pretty good job.

And then I let her go.

_Don't let me go…_

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Yes, I know it was kinda over dramtic

**but my friend said that it was perfect and that if i changed anything she would kill me in my sleep. Great friend, huh? lol. **

**so please review and tell me your thoughts! I love to hear them!!!**

**:D :P ;) :] (heehee those smileys are for Tammerly!) **


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I know! It's been FOREVER since I've updated!! It's just that stinkin school is taking over my life!! i hate it! hate it! hate it! and i have too much homework and that makes updating impossible...yeah...feel free to throw things at me, i deserve it after making you guyz wait so long, and then finally updating but with a short chapter....**

**and thank you to all my reviewers!! you guyz make me smile... :D**

**okay...here's chapter four...**

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Percy's POV

I can't remember the last time I cried. Whenever I feel the need to cry, I always push it away, trying not to show weakness. But today, I cried. I sobbed. I didn't even care; I just had to let everything pour out.

I wasn't crying because she left, no, I was crying because I was the one who made her leave, I was the one who had hurt her, I was the one who had made her cry. And I felt like a monster.

I don't even know what I did, but whatever it was I was beating myself up about it. I kept telling myself to get it together, but each time I tried I had another breakdown.

I felt stupid and weak, crying over a girl. But this was no ordinary girl, this was Annabeth Minerva Chase, and she was worth crying over. Annabeth is nice, funny, smart, brave, a good friend, no, wait, a great friend, beautiful even though she doesn't care about her appearance, if your sick she'll ask one of the nymphs to make you blue pancakes, she actually has goals, she can smile and scowl at you at the same time (which is impressive), she puts up with seaweed heads, she can build awesome sandcastles, if you push her because she was winning an argument she doesn't cry (but she does push you back), she can beat me in chess in 13.56 seconds, she used to be able to beat me at a spar in 12.48 seconds before I became invincible, she can beat the Ares campers in everything, she's so nice that she'll take the weight of the entire freaking sky for you, she's so tough that even after holding the sky for three days she can still fight, she is the best person I've ever known, she's the best girlfriend in the world and I love her to death.

Now a girl who is all that and more is worth crying over.

I don't know what to do with myself now that she's gone. Stay in my cabin forever? I would have to get out sometime to eat or else I'd starve to death. I will cry over her, but killing myself is a little much, don't you think?

I wanted to run away, get lost, escape. That reminded me of what Annabeth had told me before she left the other night: _This is too much. I need to go, I need to get away. _I wondered if she was feeling what I was feeling right now. That thought made me sick. I needed some fresh air, I needed to clear my head. It was like someone had slashed my heart into a million pieces and then thrown me into a cardboard box. I began to feel dizzy and sore from crying so much.

I opened the door that led out of my cabin my cabin. The sun blinded me and stung my dry eyes, but the fresh air renewed me. I took a deep breath and sat on the front steps of the Poseidon Cabin. I instantly began to come back to life with the breezy air and the sunshine.

If Annabeth were here, she would've come over and say: _What's wrong, Seaweed Brain? _And then she would laugh and mess up my hair. And I would feel better again, and I would laugh with her. Her eyes would shine and she'd offer to do me a favor, something to cheer me up. I could almost see her sitting next to me, "_Gosh, Seaweed Brain, you can't honestly be crying over me?" _she seemed to be saying. I sighed.

I could spend hours just thinking about Annabeth. Just remembering her, replaying her voice over and over in my head. And If I concentrated hard enough on those stormy gray eyes and beautiful blonde hair I can honestly say that I feel like she never left me, that she's here right now. I could feel her warmth beside me, I could see her out of the corner of my eyes. She was so close, yet so far away

_I remember every look upon your face,  
The way you roll your eyes, the way you taste  
You make it hard for breathing  
'Cause when I close my eyes and drift away  
I think of you and everything's okay  
And finally now, we're leaving._

_I am officially a mess, _I declared.

I got up and walked to the Athena cabin; thank the gods that nobody was in there. I found Annabeth's bunk and lay down.

Annabeth had a few secrets that only I knew; one of them was that she slept with a little blanket. When she first told me I laughed to hard I fell to the floor and earned a punch in the gut. Now I think Annabeth with a blanket kinda cute. _Whoa, back up, note to self: never say that again. _I don't know why the blanket was so special to her but I did know not to tell anyone and I respected that. Annabeth's blanket was pale and the sides were ripped and fringed from overuse. It was a white with yellow and green stripes, but the colors were faded. I took the blanket from under her pillow and hugged it to my chest. It was warm and smelled like her: lemony and sweet.

I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head, not believing that I was about to do this, but I opened my mouth and did it anyway. "Annabeth," I whispered, "I know your not here, and that you won't even hear me, but I want you to know that I'm sorry," I felt extremely stupid, "and…I love you." I felt even stupider. "I feel your pain, I do, and I know that I am completely responsible for it and that I will do anything to make it up for you. Anything." When I was done, I looked around, making sure that nobody heard me or saw me. Then I curled up in her bed, taking in her scent and her warmth that still lingered between the sheets, and fell asleep.

…**~^^^~…**

Annabeth's POV

_Today is a winding road that's taking me_

_To places that I didn't want to go, whoa_

_Today in the blink of an eye_

_I'm holding onto something_

_And I do not know why I tried_

"Welcome to Massachusetts" I read off a big sign as I sped down the highway. It took five and a half hours to drive from New York to the coast of New Hampshire. So I bet your wondering: If it takes five hours to get there, and you left last night, how come you're only in Massachusetts? The sad truth is that I started to cry the other night as I drove away from Camp, away from him. And then I started to sob and the tears made it absolutely impossible to drive. So I pulled over somewhere along the beach and got out of my car. Then I ran to the water and dove in, letting the freezing waves numb out my pain. Being in the ocean again made me feel like his arms were still around me and his lips were still on mine. I never wanted to get out, I refused to get out. So I stayed in the water. I woke up the next morning lying on the sand. It took me a while to recover so I only really started to drive about four hours ago.

"Stupid, stupid Seaweed Brain." I muttered. I mentally smacked myself in the face for blaming him for what was my fault. This was my entire responsibility: the pain, the tears, his broken heart. Everything was caused by my entirely insane actions. "Stupid, stupid Annabeth." I modified my first comment. I was silent for a long time, but then I screamed, "Stupid, stupid Aphrodite!"

I groaned and rested my head on the steering wheal of the car my mother had rented for me. A black minivan beeped at me from behind and I sped up.

Images from last night flashed back into my head: Percy's beautiful, perfect, sea green eyes, filled with concern as he stroked my face, and the hurt in those beautiful eyes when I pushed him away. Every time he tried to love me, I pushed him away. I would never make that mistake again. I felt so heartless and empty.

_Don't let me go_

_Don't let me go_

_Don't let me go_

How could I be so cold-blooded? All I wanted was him, and because I wanted him so much, I left. I was angry at him because I thought that he would leave me, I thought he was a low-life cheater for kissing Thalia and then abandoning me. Now I'm just as bad as I thought he was, actually, I was probably worse. Percy would never leave me like I thought, never, and I realized that too late. "Stupid, stupid love. Stupid, stupid boys. It's ruining me!" I shouted.

_I am officially a mess,_ I declared.

"Annabeth, calm down," I told myself. "You are making the right choice."

_No your not. _My conscience disagreed.

"Yes I am." I insisted.

_No your not. _

"Yes."

_No. _

"Yes."

_You left him when he needed you most._

"I left him for a good reason!"

_No. You thought you could escape your problems by leaving, when really your just making it worse. _

"Im doing this for my mother!"

_Please, the shell means nothing. She even told you that she could've found it herself, if you had backed out it wouldn't have made a difference. _

"Okay, okay! Just leave me alone! I've done enough suffering."

_He loved you…loved is past tense. I'm not sure how he feels now. _

"HE DOES TOO LOVE ME! What do you know anyway!?"

_I'm your conscience, I know everything. _

"WELL DO YOU KNOW ENOUGH TO SHUT UP!?"

A lady in a big jeep gave me a weird look before cutting in front of me. I sighed. I was going crazy.

A part of me wanted to just turn around and drive back to New York. I would run past the camp border and wouldn't stop until I was safely in Percy's arms. I would kiss him and kiss him and kiss him. I would tell him that I was sorry and that I loved him. And while I was dreaming, he would kiss me and kiss and kiss me. And I would tell him that I was sorry and he would say _It's okay, Wise Girl,_ and then he would tell me that he loved me. And I would say _How could you love me after I left you? _And he would say _I love you, Annabeth, I love you to death, I've never stopped and I never will. _Ha! Stupid, stupid conscience! He does love me! I groaned. Who am I kidding?

But my daydream was far from reality. One of the main reasons was that Percy and I have never told each other that we loved each other. It was just too awkward, I guess.

_Some things we don't talk about_

_Rather do without and just hold the smile_

_Falling in and out of love_

_Ashamed and proud of, together all the while_

Another was that there was no way Percy would ever talk to me again, much less kiss me.

About ten cars beeped at me at once and I realized I was holding up traffic. I quickly stomped on the gas and drove away.

I kept driving without another thought of Percy, that is, until I reached the bridge. I got through the EZ-pass lane and drove up over the sea. I looked down at the ocean, expecting it to be calm and blue, but instead the waves were strong and high, making it impossible for the poor kayakers to get anywhere. The water was a mixture of a deep blue and a muddy brown. I understood immediately what that meant: I had hurt Percy very badly and he was probably crying his eyes out.

My heart shattered when my brain showed me an image of Percy sitting in the Poseidon Cabin, curled up in a ball, and sobbing. Percy hardly ever cried, he was too strong and brave and always managed to look on the bright side of things, but the ocean told me that he was crying now, and all because of me. I felt like someone had just dropped the sky back onto my shoulders. I couldn't move, I was petrified with grief. I didn't know what to do, so I just sat there, inching along in traffic, staring out at the angry sea, and feeling extremely alone, atrocious, and heartbroken.

I started to cry too. Tears fogged up my vision and my loud wails made it impossible to concentrate. I pulled over.

_I told you he didn't love you, _my conscience reminded me, _but you didn't believe me. _That only made me cry harder.

This wasn't worth it. Forget the freaking shell. The only thing that mattered right now was Perseus Jackson.

I had to let him know that I loved him, I had to make things right. I found a piece of paper and a pen in the glove compartment. I leaned the paper against the window and began to write:

_Percy—I'm sorry. I never ever should've left you. I'm so sorry, this is all my fault. Please forgive me. I need you and I lo_ I stopped writing for a second. Three tears landed on the paper as I questioned if I should tell him I loved him. If only Percy was here to wipe these tears away and kiss me like last night, only this time I would never push him away. _I love you. _I finally wrote. _I really, really do. I understand if you don't believe me, I understand if you never want to see me again. I understand if you don't love me back. I deserve it. I promise I will fix this, maybe not right now, just give me some time and I will make things better. You have no idea how hard this is for me. And again, Im so sorry. I love you—Annabeth. _

After I spilled all my secret feelings onto the scrap paper, I folded it up and slowly, oh so slowly, opened the door and stepped out. All of the cars inching by in the traffic jam stopped and stared at me. I heard a lot of: _What in the world? _and _Should we go help her? _and _Oh look, Mommy, there's a girl out there! _and then the following answer: _Not now sweetie, Mommy's driving. _I ignored all of them.

Tears spilled out of my closed gray eyes and ran down my cheeks. I was shaking as I began to walk toward the side of the bridge, I clutched the folded paper to my chest until I reached the edge, and then I carefully dropped it off the side. I watched as it slowly drifted into the angry sea and then dissolved into the water. I said a quick prayer to Poseidon before I walked back to my car and drove away.

_Yeah I'm walking on a tightrope_

_I'm wrapped up in vines, I think we'll make it out_

_But you just gotta give me time_

_Strike me down with lightning_

_Let me feel you in my veins_

_I wanna let you know how much I feel your pain._

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**Ohh!! depressing!! ok, i promise, this is probably my last depressing/crying chapter, the next one will be HAPPY!! *smiles* **

**and sorry again, i was gonna make this chapter longer but it wasn't working out for me so i decided to just post wat I already had cuz i didnt wanna make you wait any longer...**

**and OMIGODS I AM OBSESSED WITH OWL CITY!! who else?? and Tik Tok by Ke$ha is the best song....just had to say that...**

**sooo....okay guyz!! click that button down there!! The one that says REVIEW. AND NO FLAMES!! they make me sad :'( **

**xx**

**miheadisfullofkelp**


	5. Chapter 5

**Haha...Hi. Anyone remember me? It's been about three life times since I've updated. *nervous laughter* so again, feel free to throw things at me, especially after making you guys wait so long and then updating with a short chapter. ****haha...sorry again...**

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I spent the rest of the day sitting on the beach. Sitting, thinking, and crying. I knew that my depression was getting to be a bit much, but I felt so horrible that I could do nothing else. Sit. Think. Cry.

Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked over to see my best furry friend sitting beside me on the sand.

"Hey, Man." I mumbled.

"Perrrrrcy," the satyr bleated, "You look horrible."

I groaned. "Yeah...I know."

He sighed. "Um…I'm sorry about Annabeth." He looked pretty sincere.

Then a horrible thought occurred to me: how the Hades did he know this? I wanted to scream and tear something apart. I _hate_how nothing stays secret at this camp! Annabeth hasn't even been gone a whole day, yet all of Camp Half Blood probably already knows. I closed my eyes and tried to reduce my anger. "Does everybody know? Who told you?" I said through gritted teeth.

Grover winced, and I realized that I needed to calm down. Just because I was in a depressed, emo mood, doesn't mean I have to go upsetting everyone around me. "Nobody knows Percy," Grover's anxious voice snapped me out of my reality check. "Annabeth came to talk with me before she started packing. She told me the whole story."

So, Annabeth came to talk with him? My eyes light up. I wonder what she said… I tried to make my excitement discreet. "What she say?" I asked.

Grover shrugged, "Nothing she's hasn't already told you. But I do know..."

"You know what?" I demanded.

Grover looked like he was gonna smack himself. It was actually pretty funny, his face got all white and his hazel eyes grew about five sizes bigger. "Uhhh…Well, Annabeth said that…She doesn't want you to…"

"She doesn't want me to know?" Oh, this has gotta be good.

"No, she…" Grover seemed to be struggling for the right words, "she just doesn't want you to…chase after her. And, when I tell you, you're gonna run after her. And..."

Okay, I admit, I felt pretty stupid right then. Instead of spending the whole day crying 'cause Annabeth left I could've followed her and we would've have been together by now. Ugh. In my defense though, I'm no child of Athena.

"Besides the fact that I want to be with her, why would I chase after her?" I asked, because why not follow her and save me from depression?

Grover bit his lip and looked sideways at the sky, trying to figure out how to word his next statement. "Athena…umm, well, let's just say that she tricked Annabeth. Maybe you would wanna…put some sense into her head?"

Athena tricked Annabeth? What for?

Grover sensed my confusion and continued. "Well…"

I groaned. "C'mon, Grover! Even if you don't tell me I'm still gonna chase after her. I don't care what she says."

Grover sighed in defeat and rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay, so…Annabeth's looking for a conch shell, right?"

"Right"

Grover seemed to like knowing something I didn't. His eyes were all bright and he was sort of smiling. "The thing is that…"

"What?"

"Wait for it…wait for it…"

This goat kid was killing me. I tired look bored yet somewhat threatening, then maybe he'd just _tell me already_.

The thing is that," Grover continued, "there is no shell."

I blinked and waiting for that to sink in. Nothing came to me. "What?"

"There's some story about a conch shell…" Grover started to clarify but then I interrupted him.

"Wait, hold up, there's a story to this shell?" I asked. "Why don't I know about it?"

"Because it isn't a Greek myth," he explained. "It's more of a rumor, I guess. Supposedly there's this conch shell and if you blow it it would summon Damia."

"Who the Hades is Damia?" I have never heard of her. I really should catch up on my Greek Mythology. For all I know, Damia could my half-sister.

"A minor goddess of growth in Nature," the satyr clarified.

I was still lost, "What does this have to do with anything?"

Grover let out a little awkward chuckle and then mumbled, "This whole Seaweed Brain thing is not an understatement,"

"Hey!"

He held up his hands in defense, "I'm just kidding!"

I rolled my eyes. "Seriously thought, I don't get it."

As weird it sounds, I could feel Grover beginning to get impatient. "Look, this is all you need to know: Annabeth is on a quest for a shell that isn't real. Some guy made up a story about the conch shell and got people to believe it. Even me." His voice got quieter on that that last part.

"Even you?"

Grover blushed. "Yeah, I was in New Hampshire and well, curiosity killed that satyr."

"What happened?"

Grover looked reluctant to tell me, but did anyways. "I was out looking for Pan a couple years ago around the New Hampshire area. I remembered about the shell and decided to look for it, just for fun," he added, "There were lost of signs leading to the shell, but I kept getting lost every time. So I gave up. When I got back to camp I did some research and found out that the shell wasn't even real." He looked at me for reassurance that it wasn't the most retarded thing to go looking for something that doesn't exist. And it's not if Annabeth was making the same mistake right now. Because Annabeth Chase does not do retarded things. Most of the time anyway…

And that brought me to my next question: "Does Annabeth know about this? That she's on a quest…for nothing?"

Grover scratched his goatee, which really needed to be cut. "Don't know," he finally said, "not many people know about the shell, even less know that it's not real," he paused, "if she does know…"

I cut him off in mid-sentence, I didn't want to hear the rest in case it had something to do with how much I hurt her. "If there's no conch shell, than how come she's out there looking…" I trailed off, searching through all that seaweed up there for an answer.

"That's the trick," Grover clarified. "Athena knows there's no conch shell, it was just an excuse to get Annabeth to leave."

"Why?" As soon as I had asked, the answer hit me like a ton of bricks. Athena knew that Annabeth wouldn't leave me if she had just asked, so she tricked her. She probably used her crazy powers and asked Annabeth to leave when she knew she was most likely to say yes. Athena must have known a whole week in advance that Annabeth would get mad at me, and then sorted out the whole thing from there.

Grover saw the realization in my eyes, "Yeah…" he said awkwardly.

But how could Annabeth be so stupid? How could Athena be so stupid? _No offence_, I added quickly before a lightning bolt could come out of the sky and blast me to smithereens. But I mean, really! How could Athena trick Annabeth? We are talking about Wise girl here! _My_Wise Girl! I call her wise for a reason! You can't be wise and then believe a story about a fake shell. That's what people like me are for. And knowing "Wise" Girl she would've done some research on this stupid shell before she left, and I bet you that there's a page on Google about how this conch shell is a fake. Maybe it's just the presence of a goddess that made her brain go all kerflooey. Or maybe I am just so horrible that she would take any opportunity she had to leave.

There was no way I was going to let her go, especially on a stupid, pointless quest. I loved her too much, I really, _really_ did.

So I made a snap decision. The kind where you don't think, you just do.

I stood up and started to run towards the water.

"Where are you going?" I heard Grover shout from behind me.

"To put some sense into my girlfriend's head!" I yelled over my shoulder before diving into the waves.

'_Cause you caught me off guard_

__

Now I'm running and screaming…

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**Soo...i know, it was short, but i promise my next one will be longer and I'll post it faster. **

**Guess what?? It's review time!! ****Please guys, Review! Even if it's to tell me that you like cookies. **

**thanks a bunches! **

**xx**

**miheadisfullofkelp**


	6. Chapter 6

****

heyy...haha, how long has it been since I updated? A month? More than a month? Two months? Ohmigods guyz, im so sorry!! I feel really bad :'( but on the bright side I tried to make this chapter really long so...enjoy!! ^_^

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Annabeth's POV

The first thing I noticed when I got to New Hampshire was that there were no big cities. Everything I have seen so far was either a cute little town, or a farm. It was a big change after spending a year in New York City. Everywhere I went it was charming and quaint, which is also different from the noisy city. The whole neighborhood was open and friendly. Wherever I went people smiled and said hello, even if they didn't know you. Remember when your parents always told you "Never talk to strangers"? Well that definitely does not apply here. New Hampshire was also beautiful. Flowers were everywhere. And when I say everywhere, I mean everywhere. If you were allergic to pollen you would die.

Here was one of the only downers, as you may recall, I had left on this quest to get away from Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon. I had wanted to escape from everything that reminded me of him. That was impossible here. Everywhere I looked, if there were no flowers then there was water. Sometimes even flowers and water. Well, that was expected since I was near the seacoast. But even when I wasn't near the beach there was water. In town there was water: fountains were everywhere. And lakes too, lakes were everywhere. And did I mention there was a lake in the backyard of the house I'm renting? Everywhere I went I was reminded of him. _Percy, Percy, Percy,_ my conscience chanted, _he doesn't love you, he doesn't love you, he doesn't love you._

The house was amazing though, thank you mom. It wasn't a cabin like I had expected, it was truly, one hundred percent, a house. Complete with four bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room, two bathrooms, three TVs, a computer, two balconies, and a front and back porch. And to top it all off: it was all mine. But I guess even goddesses aren't perfect because the house did have a flaw, it didn't come with food. So now I am currently in my car, driving along in search of a farmers market of some sort.

Eventually I found one. It was smack-dab in the middle of nowhere, but it was something. I parked my car next to the three others that were already there and hopped out. The first stand was selling lettuce; I took a bunch. The next stand was fruit: blueberries, strawberries, and peaches; I took them all. After stopping by ten more stands I finally came down to the last one. A grandma-type lady was standing behind the counter and she smiled at me.

"Good Morning," the women greeted me. I smiled and nodded. Salsa, jelly, jam, and sauces were displayed on the counter and there were samples of each. Chips for tasting the salsa and crackers for the jams were on the counter as well.

I picked up a chip and was about to drown it in some salsa, but I felt the lady looking at me strangely. I turned all my senses on red alert, anticipating attack. This is the first time since I got here that I remembered about monsters.

Very, very carefully, I slowly slid the tortilla chip into my mouth, watching the women out of the corner of my eye. Gods, that stuff was good! Without thinking I took three more chips, and then remembered that I was supposed to be on guard.

The women smiled at me. "Do you like it?"

I smiled sweetly, trying not to look much like an undercover half-blood deciding whether or not I was standing in front of a monster.

"Well, is your mother or father here? Maybe they would want to put their names on the list…" She stopped when she saw the expression on my face. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Um, they're, not here right now."

The woman scrunched up her eyebrows; I tried my best to look innocent. Then maybe I could get out of here without an attack, and bring some salsa with me.

"Hm, that's interesting. Why are you here by yourself?" Okay, if she wasn't a monster, then why the Hades did she care? And if she was, there was no way I was gonna tell her the truth. I didn't know what to say. Nobody has ever put me in this position before…

"They had to make a quick stop and told me they'd meet me here," I raised my eyebrow, daring her to question me. The women narrowed her eyes at me and then turned around. I took that opportunity to stuff some chips into mouth and throw a jar of salsa into my bag. Then I made a mad dash to the car.

Okay, not really a mad dash, I was only two feet away when all of a sudden I heard a rustling in the woods near by. My hand flew to my knife and I braced myself for an attack. Then a large figure knocked into the stand and the whole thing collapsed. I jumped out of the way just in time. I was frozen in a pre-battle position, ready to stab the monster when he emerged from the pile of what used to be the salsa stand.

The figure started to stand up. "Annabeth?" I knew that voice all too well.

"Seaweed Brain?"

Percy's POV

Annabeth froze with her mouth hanging open. I pushed away the collapsed table that had been previously squishing me to the ground, and then hastily got up. I waited for Annabeth to say something but she just stared at me in shock.

Although she seemed to be petrified in surprise, I don't think I've ever been happier to see her. All I wanted to do was run to her and hug the living daylights out of her, but then I noticed her dagger and decided that the best idea was to stay put.

"Hi...?" I asked nervously. She just stared at me. "Are you...okay?" She blinked, her mouth still hung open. "Uhhh...Annabeth?" Finally she closed her mouth and swallowed.

"Wh-what are you...are you...you..." A glazed look came over her face as she struggled to put together a full sentence.

"Young man..." We both turned. An old, fat lady was staring at us angrily, her cubby hands and coiled into fists and it looked like she was practicing some deep breathing exercises.

Then we did the only thing we could do.  
We ran, leaving a very angry old lady behind us. Very angry.

Annabeth panting hard when we finally got to the parking lot, I gave her a goofy smile. She gave me a weak smile in return, but her eyes sparkled. And then I didn't even care anymore that she was probably about to kill me once she got her breath back, I hugged her. At first she was hesitant but then she buried her head in my chest and wrapped her arms around my waist. I smiled against her hair. The feeling of her pressed against me was alien, even though she hasn't been gone for so long. My side burned from her body heat and running, and it felt like heaven. I made a mental note to never, ever, let her leave again. But I knew her to well to really believe that was ever gonna happen.

Annabeth lead me to a gray convertible with the top down. She wriggled out of my grip and unlocked the car.

No. Way. My eyes popped out of my head. "You have a car!?"

She smirked and suddenly the whole world got a little brighter. "Yes I do."

I walked forward to open the door for her, but she ignored me and went around to the driver's side. This surprised me, "Can you really drive? I asked.

"Yes I can." She looked very pleased with herself.

"Sweet," I mumbled.

"C'mon, Seaweed Brain, get in." She motioned for me to sit down beside her.

"So…" I started once the car was moving. I wondered where I should start. Tell her I loved her? Tell her the true story about the shell?

"Percy Jackson, tell me exactly what you are doing here." Or I could tell her that...

"You're not happy to see me?" I asked with mock hurt.

"Believe me Percy, I am so happy to see you." Her tone was deathly serious so I really had no choice but to trust her. "But we will do the whole 'I missed you so much' thing, later. Now, tell me exactly what you're doing here."

Stalling, I turned my head to look out the window. We were driving along a long, narrow, road that ran through a big field. It reminded me of that _Little House on the Prairie _show I saw on TV, like, a million years ago. I felt Annabeth's eyes on me from behind and took a deep breath. Stalling was over. Here it comes..."I just couldn't let you go, I had to run after you," I admitted, bracing myself for a punch in the face. It never came, instead she kissed my cheek. I caught my breath, she snickered.

"I'm sorry," Her suddenly soft tone startled me. "I left because...I thought if I left you than you couldn't leave me and I was so afraid—

"Wait," I interrupted her nervous jabber. "You thought I would leave you?" Why in the name of Zeus would I be so crazy to do something like that? Did she honestly think I was someone like…someone like Luke?

"Well…" she lowered her head in embarrassment.

"Watch the road, Wise Girl." I said quickly before we bumped into a BMW. "Continue…" I prompted her.

"I-I don't know what was wrong with me. I just felt like…I don't know. I can't explain it, okay?" Of course she could explain it. She just wanted the easy way out. Well, sorry Annabeth, but that's not happening.

"Try to explain. I can't help you if I don't know what the problem is." I tried to persuade her.

Annabeth attempted to act casual, but I knew her too well. I knew that it was taking all her strength not to loose her cool. "Well…for one, I was mad about Thalia…" She glanced at me and then continued, "And I also…had this quest…and…" She looked at me again, seeking encouragement.

"That doesn't tell me why you thought I would leave you, Annabeth. That's what I want to know," I said.

She looked like she was about to refuse to tell me, but then she sighed in defeat. "Think about it: who hasn't left me already?" The hopeless, betrayed tone in her voice ripped my heat in half.

"Are talking about Luke? You know I will never leave you like he did—

A deadly fire sprang up in her eyes. "Percy." She said spat out my name through clenched teeth. "Just answer my question."

I hated when she got like this: all defensive about Luke. Yes, I realize that he turned around in the end, and yes, I understand that he was like a brother to Annabeth, but I will not let anybody hurt her, and that's exactly what Luke did. Unwillingly, I answered her question.

"Grover. Grover has never left you." I said.

"That makes one." She grumbled.

"Chiron." I added.

"That makes two."

"Me." I mumbled.

She paused, mulling things over in her head. "When we were fifteen," She spoke with her eyes closed and that kind of made me feel like she was doing some sort of oracle/fortune-teller thing, "You went to Calypso's Island, and might've stayed there forever. Yes, you have left me."

I had honestly forgotten about Calypso. It made me angry that she could possibly blame me for falling under a spell.

"But I came back. And you know why I did come back." I said.

She nodded sheepishly.

"I came back for you. And--and other people, like my mom…but I did come back for you. I knew I couldn't leave you. So there, you're wrong." I crossed my arms, proud to outsmart her for once. She rolled her eyes. "And," I added, "I held up the sky for you. And I turned down becoming a god..." I froze.

"For me..." She finished, but there was question in her voice.

"For you." I said.

I sensed my victory in her yielded stance and smirked.

"Okay, okay, you're right, you win, you'd never leave me." she admitted. I grinned with pride.

Now was the hard part: telling her about the shell. Annabeth would never believe me, and one of the hardest things to do was convince Annabeth that she was wrong. She always thought she was right, and she had a good reason too 'cause she was right ninety-nine percent of the time. I did just convince her that I would never leave her, but that was one of those rare times when Annabeth was actually 100% wrong and there was no way around it.

I decided that the best way to do this was just to come right out and say it.

"Anne?" Whoa, where the Hades did that come from?

She looked at me, bewildered. "Anne!?"

"-abeth, Anne-a-beth." I laughed nervously. "Annabeth?"

She groaned, "Why do I put up with you?"

"Because I'm irresistible."

"Oh, shut up!" Her tone was angry but I could see a little smile trying to break through her lips.

I should probably tell her now when she was at least almost smiling, and not in any mood to kill me...

"Look, Annabeth…" I waited for her attention. "Why does your mother want you to find this conch shell?" That seemed like a good place to start.

"Well, it's a tool for a project that she's working on," She said. There was a hint of suspicion in her voice, like she knew something was up.

"What project?" I questioned.

"I-I don't know." She seemed to realize this for the first time.

"Well I know." Annabeth raised an eyebrow.

"What is then?" She teased, doubting my intelligence.

"Well, Athena's oh-so-important project iiisss…" I drew out the "is" for effect.

"Just tell me already!" I grinned at her impatiens.

"She's trying to break us up, Annabeth." I said abruptly. "There is no shell and Athena knows it, too."

Another one of the hardest things to do is confuse Annabeth; she always has this way of making sense of out everything. I am the King of making Annabeth confused, which I did just now.

She titled her head to the side and scrunched up her eyebrows. "What?" She finally said.

Gods how I loved to confuse that girl.

"This shell that she wants you to find? It's just another myth. Not a Greek myth that turns out to be true, it's a myth like a rumor."

The puzzled expression was still plastered to her face. "I don't understand." I pointed and laughed. She smacked me.

I rubbed my now-burning check. "Do you know what the supposedly shell does?" I asked.

"Yes," she lied.

I looked at her knowingly.

"No," she confessed.

"If you blow it, it summons the minor goddess Diana."

"You mean Damia? Diana is Artemis' Roman name, and Artemis is defiantly not a minor goddess." Annabeth corrected me.

"Yeah, whatever. The shell isn't even real anyways. Athena's just using the story to get us apart. So can you just come home?" She glared at me, "Please?" I added.

"No," she said firmly. I was shocked, but I really should've expected it.

"No?"

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"NO!"

"Huh?"

She groaned. "You are hopeless! No, I am not going home. Got it?"

"But why?" If I was told I was on a quest for nothing, I would be like "heck with the gods" and go home. Only I would be much more respectful considering the fact that I would like to keep my head attached to the rest of my body, thank you very much.

"Because you're wrong." Annabeth said.

"I'm what?" I pretended not to hear her.

"WRONG. As always. My mother would never do that." She insisted.

"But—

"True, Athena does not want us to be together but this is stupid! Sending me on a quest for a shell that doesn't exist! That's not something that a goddess of _wisdom _would do." See, I told you, convincing Annabeth that she's wrong is next to impossible.

"Well it worked, she tricked you, and she got what she wanted: our separation."

"No she didn't, Percy, were together now."

I smiled, "Yeah, we are." Annabeth blushed.

"Do you want to keep it that way?" I asked hopefully.

"More than anything." She smiled and our eyes locked.

"Then come back to camp with me." I told her.

"No." She said sternly. "I WILL find this shell. It is NOT fake. My mother is NOT lying."

"Here's where you're wrong." I insisted.

"No, I refuse to believe you." _She refuses to believe me? _

"You refuse?"

"I refuse." She said simply.

"She refuses to believe me…" I said incredulously to myself. Annabeth smirked.

We sat in silence for a while. A very awkward silence. Annabeth focused on the road in front of her, a slight frown on her face. Me destroying a piece of rope I found on the bottom of the car, 'cause there was nothing better to do. I stared absent mindedly at my hands, the rope, thinking about anything that didn't have to do with what would happen next.

"Percy?" Annabeth's voice seemed far away as the sound of my name brought me back to reality.

"Mhmm?"

"What do we do now?" Great, just the topic I didn't want to discuss. The reason? Because I knew exactly what would happen next: stubborn Annabeth would insist on staying, I would insist on leaving, we would fight, and then Annabeth would demand I go back to New York. And then I would go, and we would be right back to where we started.

Annabeth locked eyes with me, waiting for my answer to her question. "We...we need a plan," I finally said.

"Like...?" She motioned with her hands for me to continue.

I raised my eyebrows at her, "Me? You're the smart one, you think of something."

Annabeth shrugged, "You're not gonna like my idea." She was probably right, her idea would lead to us fighting, me leaving, and then us both being miserable again.

I gave in. "Okay, fine. I'll come up with something."

Again, we sat in silence, waiting for my great idea.

I sit, wait, then give up on any chance of thinking of a decent plan.

"So you really don't believe me?" I asked after awhile.

"About the shell? No." She informed me simply.

"You realize that if I'm right, which I am, you'll be here forever because you can't find the shell if it doesn't exist."

She stared out at the road, thinking hard. "Your point?"

"My point is that we should have a time limit." I told her.

She looked up into my eyes with an interested expression, "Continue," she said.

"I'll make you a deal," I offered, "if you can't find the shell within a week, you come back to camp with me without a complaint." I couldn't believe it, without meaning to, I just thought up a somewhat good plan.

"Ha! I bet I can find the shell within three days!" She challenged.

"No, I'm sticking with a week. You will not find the shell after three days—because it doesn't exist—and then when I try to take you back to camp you'll just use the 'I didn't have enough time' excuse." I said.

"Then how about five days?"

"Because even with five days I bet your big brain can still figure out a way to stay."

She chuckled, "You're probably right."

Suddenly the ride became very bumpy, and I realized it was because we were driving over gravel. A gravel driveway to be exact. A gravel driveway that belonged to a big, brown house.

My eyes grew wide, "Wh-wh-where the heck are we?"

Annabeth smirked at my startled face, "My house."

_Her house!?_

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**Ta-da!! chapter six!! I hope after a billion years of waiting you guyz liked it. XD**

**And thanks to lexi10a who really helped with this!! And my friend G! Luv you guyz!!**

**And I kno from last time that a lot of you guyz like cookies, so If you review I'll give you a cookie!! Now who can pass up a cookie?? **

**xx**

**miheadisfullofkelp**


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

Technology, the answer to life's problems. After what seemed like three lifetimes, the page I had been waiting for finally unfolded on the tiny screen of my ancient Dell computer.

I muttered to myself as typed into the search bar. Hermes had set up a website that connected to the library up on Olympus. It's always best to look up information in the ancient scrolls of our cabin, or on Daedalus's laptop (which I had left at home in my haste), but Hermes' website was the next best thing. Truth be told, I haven't done any research yet. Very unlike me, I know. And I feel horrible about it, leaving so fast, and forgetting research. Sometimes I think I've lost myself, this whole thing was so rushed…

I shook my head to clear the thoughts. _Get back on track, Annabeth. _My mission here was to find the shell, and prove my stupid boyfriend wrong. No biggie. I was going to do this.

"Damia…conch shell…uhhh…" I squinted as I scrolled down, looking for any information that might be somewhat useful.

"Lost for many years…belonged to the minor goddess Damia…" I read aloud to myself, scanning the paragraph.

Nope, nothing that I don't already know. The curser lingered on the x-button, ready to give up on Hermes.

Ooh…wait…

"Rumor has it that the shell is to be found only around water…." I grinned. The image of Percy's face filled with disbelief entered my mind and my smile grew bigger.

There was a map at the bottom of the page highlighting all the major water bodies in New Hampshire. I printed it.

I couldn't stop from smiling. I hate to admit it, but for awhile I was worried that Seaweed Brain might have been right. Now I have a chance to prove him wrong.

The great possibility that the website was untrustworthy bubbled up in the back of my mind, but in the moment I was too proud to care. Winning was a must with all children of Athena. We were all a little too competitive…

"Percy!" Oh, I couldn't wait to rub this stupid map in his face, "Percy!"

No answer. I listened carefully; he was nearby a second ago.

"Percy?"

I got an answer this time, but not at all the answer I was hoping for.

A piercing scream from outside shot through the walls and almost knocked me over.

Monsters.

The voice was high-pitched and full of terror, defiantly not Percy, but I was still on my feet and armed in seconds.

Again and again the terrified cries sounded from in back. I was always taught to remain calm in these situations. If one of us knew what we were doing, we all had a chance to live. But the calls for help were just too much for me to bear.

I ran outside towards the screaming, keeping close to the bushes and out of sight. Not that that would do much good since most monsters have horrible eyesight and an excellent sense of smell.

"Holy Hades…"

The house my mom had rented for me was on the water. From the tree that guarded me from sight I could see out into the water. And I saw a little girl. Drowning.

"Oh Gods…"

This was not my forte. If only there was a monster, then maybe I could handle this. But water and I have a long history. I couldn't make myself jump into water. Although I hate to admit it, deep down I knew was that there was no way I could save that girl alone.

I couldn't just leave. I've seen it, now im part of it. If she dies then it's my fault. Oh, where was Percy when I needed him?

"PERCY!" I shouted. If I were a Seaweed Brain where would I be?

In the water. I craned my neck and searched the water surface.

_Yessss._ Relief flooded over me when I saw my boyfriend dive between the tiny waves. Pressure was off me and the prophecy child was going to save the day again. For the millionth time.

Feeling somewhat ashamed for depending on Percy too much, I walked down the stairs, ready to congratulate him when he pulled the girl out of the water.

Realization hit me before I finished down the steps. Suddenly I knew something was wrong. Like the sun had just disappeared behind a storm cloud.

Percy seemed to be struggling. Struggling? He could rescue somebody from the water with his eyes closed, standing on his head, sleeping!

I ran down the remaining stairs and onto the dock. "Percy!"

He lifted his head above the water noticed me for the first time, even though his hair fell down in front of his sea green eyes; I could see he was panicked.

His terrified face was like a dagger through my heart. I saw that face less and less as we got older. Battle never scared him anymore and he always approached danger with a straight face. Not like when I first met him.

Not much could make his face as scared as that, not after everything we've been through. If Percy was scared, there must be a very good reason.

"Get the girl! I'll take care of the monster!" He screamed to me.

Monster! My vision zoomed out from his face and I took in the scene.

Percy hadn't swam out to rescue the drowning girl like I had thought; he swam out to kill the demon that was pulling her under.

I've never seen a monster like this. She looked strangely human except for her skin was blue wrapped in seaweed. Her eyes were white and her mouth was lined with jagged fangs. Long black hair floated around her body and covered the girl from my view.

Percy didn't have a weapon._ That stupid boy. _He was doing his best to strangle the creature while she tried to strangle him.

"ANNABETH! Get the girl out of the water and back to the house! I'll take care of the monster!" He yelled when his head was above the water.

"Are you crazy? You can't kill that thing with your hands! I have my dagger let me do it!" I shouted back at him.

He opened his mouth to answer but the monster pushed him under. I didn't know what to do. I hate not knowing what to do. I couldn't survive in the water. If Percy was struggling then I was good as dead. I was stuck on land and completely useless.

_Think, think, think! _

For once I couldn't think. My mind was wiped clean of every thought I've ever had. All I could register was my boyfriend trashing around in the water. I couldn't think, I could just act.

I felt like I was in a daze. Like I was very dehydrated and this was all a big mirage. My vision became blurry and the only sound I could hear was the loud buzz of silence as my empty thoughts floated around in my head like clouds. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion, yet under the water I make out the form of the creature, impulsively I threw my dagger at it.

The blob of bodies fighting underwater momentarily froze and slowly started sinking.

"Oh my gods…" What the Hades was happening down there? What did I just do? Suddenly the world around me snapped into full motion once again and I ran and jumped of the dock.

Also another impulsive move.

When I surfaced I saw Percy swimming toward me and dragging the unconscious girl behind him.

"Get back on land!" He shouted.

"What?"

"Annabeth get on the dock! NOW! I don't know if there's more of them!"

He didn't have to tell me twice. I hauled myself back onto the tiny wooden dock and then helped Percy up. He collapsed as soon as his feet touched dry land.

Being the son of Poseidon every inch of him was bone dry. The girl on the other hand was sopping wet. Although she was unconscious, her heart was beating so she could wait.

I went over and pulled Percy upright so he was learning against the foot of the stairs. Exhausted, his head fell on my shoulder and I rubbed his back until his breathing became steady.

I looked out into the water. Yesterday when we had gotten here Percy had been so shocked. I knew he was expecting a cabin, and this was no cabin. What really caught his attention was the Great Bay. The house made no impression on him compared the bay.

He had started to pick a fight with me on how the house and the bay were just part of Athena's plan to get me away from him, how she's using them to bribe me. But he gave up quickly with the distraction of the water.

Part of Athena's "plan" or not, the bay was really beautiful; green blue water that seemed to go on forever, lined by a thick green forest, and the open sky over head. Except for the boats on the far end making ripples in the water, we were totally alone.

This would have been so perfect if the frightened, drained face of my boyfriend wasn't ripping my heart apart and there wasn't an unconscious little girl lying next to me.

"What happened out there?" I asked. Percy groaned and tucked his head between his knees. My hand traced patterns on his back, trying to comfort him.

"That thing…" He started.

"The blue thing?"

"Uh huh," He was so in shock, he seemed so out of it. His voice sounded a thousand mills away.

"Like Avatar?" My horrid attempt to lighten the mood. He turned his head and gave me a weak smile as if to say _thanks for trying_.

"No, it was a water nymph…"

"Aren't they usually—

"Peaceful?" He cut me off, guessing the rest of my sentence. "Yeah." Percy sat up and looked me. I was startled by his intense gaze. "I have no idea what happened to them."

"Are you sure it was a water nymph?"

"Positive," The betrayal of the nymphs seemed to really depress him.

Without warning he stood up and shouted, "CAN'T THE WORLD JUST STAY SAVED!" Then fell down into my lap and I gave out a startled shriek.

I grasped his hand. "Calm down, okay? You don't know, that could just be one possessed nymph gone crazy, maybe…" There was no use trying to convince him. The chance that only one or a few nymphs betrayed us was small. It was either all nymphs or none.

Percy sat beside me again. "You have no idea what that was like. She had so much power. I couldn't even control the water. She made it like a whirl pool, pulling everything in the water towards her. I couldn't stop it."

"Percy—

He cut me off again, "_And we just freakin' saved the world!_ Did we, or did we not just finish saving the world!"

"We did…"

"We did! I just really want some time to _relax_. To know that everyone's going to be safe for just a little while," He explained.

"You—

I was interrupted by a coughing noise beside me.

We both turned and stared into the wide eyes of the formerly unconscious girl.

"Who…who the heck are you guys?"

**

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**

Sorry for the (really) long wait! My writing might have changed a little considering it's been five or six months since I've updated...sorry...My life and fanfiction dont work well together...at all...

Soo...I added a new character, like it? Hate it? Dont care? _Question for my readers_: where do you want things to go from here (in terms of the new character)? Tell me your ideas and I'll work something out. 'Cause I really don't know what to do with this new person!

Sorry again for taking so long to update! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and reminded me to continue! Extra thanks to AIFarisi who threatned to send a bunch of hellhounds after me if I didn't update :DD Thank you also to lexi10a and my friend Grace who helped me a lot with my writing

xx

miheadisfullofkelp


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